Kabale Hospital CT scan lies idle seven months after installation

By Byamukama Libino

Kabale – Kabale Regional Referral Hospital Computed Tomography (CT) Scan machine is yet to be operationalized seven months after it was installed.

The Ministry of Health delivered the CT scan at K.R.R.H in August 2022 amidst joy and celebrations from the people of Kabale district where the hospital is located.

CT scans are used to identify disease or injury within various parts of the body. The scan is used to detect tumors or lesions within the abdomen, identify heart disease or abnormalities, locate injuries, pulmonary embolisms (blood clots), clots leading to stroke, hemorrhage, excess fluid, and other conditions such as emphysema or pneumonia.

However, the CT scan for K.R.RH is still lying idle, as patients are referred to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital for CT scan services.

This was after the Kabale district LC5 councilor for Central Division, Leopold Twesigye petitioned the office of the Kabale RDC Kabale over the same issue.

In his petition dated 30^th March 2023, addressed to the office of the RDC, Twesigye states that people of Kabale and the surrounding districts have been suffering with high costs of scan services from private clinics, as well as travelling long distances to Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital.

“Our people are suffering and paying a lot of money in private clinics here and Mabarara for the scan services when the government has given us the machine,” the petition reads in part.

In an interview with Wallnetnews, Twesigye said that people were being charged Shs300,000 for CT scan services at a private clinic located opposite the Electoral Commission offices in Kabale municipality.

“Sometimes even the privately owned machine breaks down and people have to travel to Mbarara Hospital, where the costs could reach up to Shs600, 000,” Twesigye said.

When contacted via a phone call, Kabale district Deputy RDC Ronald Bakaki said he had been following the matter for the last two-three weeks after receiving complaints from the locals.

Bakaki explained that the CT scan machine was not fully installed and it lacked appropriate reagents, and staff to operate it. He also said that the machine was awaiting authorization from the Uganda Atomic Energy Council, and commissioning before it is operationalized.

Kabale Regional Referral Hospital Director Dr. Filbert Nyeko said that the nearest government owned CT scan is at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, adding that it is costly and involves other challenges such as “wear and tear”

“I was arguing that since the machine is ready, we could start using it, but we were asked to wait for the Commissioning by officials from the Ministry of Health,” Dr. Nyeko said.

Kabale Regional Referral Hospital serves people from the six districts of Kigezi sub-region, and the surrounding areas, including parts of Rwanda.

In 2021, the government through the Ministry of Health started the phased installation of Computed Tomography (CT) scan machines in all the fourteen regional referral hospitals in Uganda.

Kabale Regional Referral Hospital was among the last hospitals that received their share in 2022, the others being Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, Lira Regional Referral Hospital and Arua Regional Referral Hospital.

The purchase and installation of a 128 slice CT scan machine cost about Shs2.5bn.